Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars are one of my favorites. I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with alternative ingredients again this past week and came up with a recipe that is super delicious. Lemon Bars, a very refreshing and sweet dessert, without refined sugars and gluten-free.

I used a base of blanched almond flour and maple syrup. Coconut oil doesn’t work so well, so I stuck with grass-fed butter. The results were fantastic.

Taking from the traditional lemon bar recipe I have from my grandmother, I not only substituted the sugar with maple syrup, I also added a tropical twist with unsweetened coconut flakes as part of the top crumble. So refreshing.

The biggest differences that I have noticed is the consistency of the cake/cookie base being softer than it’s flour counterpart and the lemon curd isn’t as yellow because of the maple syrup. It does firm up overnight or once completely cooled. I would also put in the refrigerator for longer storage. These two differences didn’t impact the taste!

I hope you like this version of lemon bars as much as my family has!

Enjoy the bake!

Trace

Lemon Bars Recipe

Lemon Curd

3/4 cup maple syrup

6 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs of lemon zest

2 tbs cornstarch

6 egg yolks beaten

1/2 cup grass-fed butter cut up

Combine the maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest and cornstarch in a sauce pan. Over medium heat bring to a boil, this will happen quickly so keep a good watch. Stir for about 1 – 2 minutes until thick, then in a separate bowl, add a little at a time of the hot liquid to the beaten egg yolks to temper the eggs and not turn to scrambled eggs. Once half of the hot liquid is incorporated, then add the egg yolk mixture to the remaining liquid in the sauce pan. Over low heat stir until completely combined and thick. Remove from the heat and add the butter and stir until melted. Let cool and then set aside.

I cooled my curd overnight, but you could use after about an 30-60 minutes of cooling.

Cake/Cookie Base

1 cup softened grass-fed butter

3/4 cup maple syrup

3 cups blanched almond flour

1 tsp baking powder

In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and the maple syrup until combined. Then add the almond flour/baking powder to slowly to the butter mixture until fully mixed.

In a prepared 13 x 9 x 2 greased pan or a torte pan, spread the dough evenly and bake for about 15-20 minutes at 375 degree oven. Or until edges and top are slightly brown.

Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before spreading your lemon curd overtop, being careful to not “tear” the dough from spreading too hard. Spread curd until you leave just a little edge all around.

For the crumble, mix 2/3 cup flour, 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, 1/2 slivered almonds, 1 tbs of softened butter. Using your fingers, completely combine the ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined and not large portions of butter remain.

Sprinkle the crumb on top of the curd. Bake for another 8-10 minutes or until the crumb becomes a bit browned. Remove and cool the pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.